Abstract
Morinda citrifolia L. (noni) is one of the most important traditional Polynesian medicinal plants. The primary indigenous use of this plant appears to be of the leaves, as a topical treatment for wound healing. The ethanol extract of noni leaves (150 mg kg−1 day−1) was used to evaluate the wound-healing activity on rats, using excision and dead space wound models. Animals were randomly divided into two groups of six for each model. Test group animals in each model were treated with the ethanol extract of noni orally by mixing in drinking water and the control group animals were maintained with plain drinking water. Healing was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, time until complete epithelialization, granulation tissue weight and hydoxyproline content. On day 11, the extract-treated animals exhibited 71% reduction in the wound area when compared with controls which exhibited 57%. The granulation tissue weight and hydroxyproline content in the dead space wounds were also increased significantly in noni-treated animals compared with controls (P < 0.002). Enhanced wound contraction, decreased epithelialization time, increased hydroxyproline content and histological characteristics suggest that noni leaf extract may have therapeutic benefits in wound healing.
Highlights
Wound healing occurs in three stages: inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling
The proliferative phase is characterized by angiogenesis, collagen deposition, granulation tissue formation, epithelialization and wound contraction
New blood vessels grow from endothelial cells
Summary
Wound healing occurs in three stages: inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. The proliferative phase is characterized by angiogenesis, collagen deposition, granulation tissue formation, epithelialization and wound contraction. In fibroplasia and granulation tissue formation, fibroblasts grow and form a new, provisional extracellular matrix by excreting collagen and fibronectin. Traditional Polynesian healers used parts of the plant for many purposes including ß 2007 The Author(s). The primary indigenous use of this plant is leaves as a topical treatment for wound healing. Most recently Takashima et al [10] demonstrated the medicinal uses of new constituents isolated from noni leaves [10]. There are no experimental reports on wound-healing activities of noni in literature. We report for the first time, the efficacy of noni extract in the treatment of wounds
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
